National People's Army

The National People's Army (Nationale Volksarmee—NVA) was the combined armed forces of East Germany, the communist German state that emerged during the Cold War after the Soviet occupation of Nazi Germany. Throughout its existence the NVA was rated as being the best military force out of all of the Warsaw Pact countries, including the Soviet Army. That was partly due to the fact that East Germany's location meant that the NVA would be the first line of defense against NATO at the outbreak of war. It took part in some minor internal actions but did not see any significant combat during its existence from 1956 until 1990. However, the NVA did send several thousand German military advisors to various countries in Africa and Asia to support communist groups there. The National People's Army consisted of three branches, the Landstreitkräfte (Land Forces), Volksmarine (People's Navy), and Luftstreitkräfte (Air Forces).